jaria - Slashdot User

Music Copyright In EU Extended To 70 Years 395

Posted by kdawson on Saturday April 25, 2009 @11:04PM from the how-about-residuals-for-my-lines-of-code dept.

rastos1 writes "The European Parliament extended the copyright in the EU for the performers of musical works from 50 to 70 years. The legislation will be reviewed in 3 years. The European Commission will consider extending the scope to audiovisual works too." So performers will collect for 20 more years from the date of performance; composers' rights already extend to 70 years beyond their deaths. Update: 4/26 at 12:15 GMT by SS: Reader rimberg points out that while the copyright extension was passed in the European Parliament, it is now being held up in the Council of Ministers awaiting further debate on the issue.

Submission + - NASA Researchers Worried About Huge Sun Flares (wired.com) 1

Submitted by resistant on Saturday April 25, 2009 @10:37PM

resistant writes: Wired reported recently that a group of researchers assembled by NASA issued a "chilling" report expressing great concern about the potential for solar flares in 2012 to coincide with "the presence of an unusually large hole in Earth's geomagnetic shield", potentially virtually collapsing national power grids. Complicating the matter is the lack of current plans to replace the sole early warning satellite on which power grid operators rely, and the poor state of readiness in general. Full recovery from such a catastrophe might take four to ten years, and cost trillions of dollars.

The report was largely ignored at first because of the unfortunate overlap with an ancient Mayan prediction of a major "turning point" in the year 2012 (by the Western calendar).

Submission + - Doctors in the UK May Have Discovered an HIV Cure

Submitted by Nakor BlueRider on Saturday April 25, 2009 @09:56PM

Nakor BlueRider writes: A patient in the UK was treated with a bone marrow transplant for his leukemia. The donor of this marrow is one of the roughly 3% of people born with a natural resistance to the HIV virus. In the three years since, the patient has been completely cured of the HIV virus.

The immunity is caused by a genetic mutation, where one of the two receptors in the marrow that HIV interacts with is missing. Experts hope that they can grow a permanent stem cell supply from a few donors' bone marrow. Medics are saying this treatment may become common as soon as five years from now. With only 3% of the world bearing that mutation, the need of a compatible donor for a transplant to work, and the risks involved with a transplant, it may not be perfect, but I believe we can all be overjoyed that we have proven HIV can be beaten.

Submission + - Bruce Sterling on Design (acm.org)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 25, 2009 @07:05PM

An anonymous reader writes: Bruce Sterling, one of the original cyberpunks, offers his thoughts on design; he takes designers, technologists, and even science fiction writers to task with their lack of imagination: "We have entered an unimagined culture. In this world of search engines and cross-links, of keywords and networks, the solid smokestacks of yesterday's disciplines have blown out. Instead of being armored in technique, or sheltered within subculture, design and science fiction have become like two silk balloons, two frail, polymorphic pockets of hot air, floating in a generally tainted cultural atmosphere." View the original article here.

Submission + - Steve Eve's 1:10 Saturn 5 Successful!

Submitted by Darren Wright on Saturday April 25, 2009 @06:55PM

Darren Wright writes: Steve Eve's 1:10 Saturn V took flight today at 1:00PM at Higgs Farm, Price, MD. The 9 motors, made by Loki Research, produced
8800lbs of thrust. The rocket pulled 7g's at Max Q, 465 mph, and apogee was at 4441ft. The rocket descended on 3
28ft man rated chutes, and stuck the landing.

Submission + - Economist on television over broadband (economist.com)

Submitted by zxjio on Saturday April 25, 2009 @06:15PM

zxjio writes: The Economist has two articles discussing television over broadband, and the effects of DVR use:

"Cable-television companies make money by selling packages of channels. The average American household pays $700 a year for over 100 channels of cable television but watches no more than 15. Most would welcome the chance to buy only those channels they want to watch, rather than pay for expensive packages of programming they are largely not interested in. They would prefer greater variety, toosomething the internet offers in abundance. A surprising amount of video is available free from websites like Hulu and YouTube, or for a modest fee from iTunes, Netflix Watch Instantly and Amazon Video on Demand. ... Consumers new-found freedom to choose has struck fear into the hearts of the cable companies. They have been trying to slow internet televisions steady march into the living room by rolling out DOCSIS 3 at a snails pace and then stinging customers for its services. Another favourite trick has been to cap the amount of data that can be downloaded, or to charge extortionately by the megabyte. Yet the measures to suffocate internet television being taken by the cable companies may already be too late. A torrent of innovative start-ups, not seen since the dotcom mania of a decade ago, is flooding the market with technology for supplying internet television to the living room."
"Families with DVRs seem to spend 15-20% of their viewing time watching pre-recorded shows, and skip only about half of all advertisements. This means only about 5% of television is time-shifted and less than 3% of all advertisements are skipped. Mitigating that loss, people with DVRs watch more television."

Drug Company Merck Drew Up Doctor "Hit List" 281

Posted by kdawson on Saturday April 25, 2009 @02:19PM from the i'll-have-your-job-young-man dept.

Philip K Dickhead sends in a piece from the Australian media, a couple of weeks old, that hasn't seen much discussion here. In a class-action lawsuit in Australia against Merck for its Vioxx anti-arthritis drug, information has come out that the company developed a "hit list" of doctors who had expressed anything but enthusiasm for the drug. Vioxx was withdrawn from the market in 2004 because it causes heart attacks and strokes. Merck settled a class action in the US for $4.85 billion but did not admit guilt. "An international drug company made a hit list of doctors who had to be 'neutralized' or discredited because they criticized the anti-arthritis drug the pharmaceutical giant produced. Staff at US company Merck & Co. emailed each other about the list of doctors — mainly researchers and academics — who had been negative about the drug Vioxx or Merck and a recommended course of action. The email, which came out in the Federal Court in Melbourne yesterday as part of a class action against the drug company, included the words 'neutralize,' 'neutralized,' or 'discredit' against some of the doctors' names. It is also alleged the company used intimidation tactics against critical researchers, including dropping hints it would stop funding to institutions and claims it interfered with academic appointments. 'We may need to seek them out and destroy them where they live,' a Merck employee wrote, according to an email excerpt read to the court by Julian Burnside QC, acting for the plaintiff."

Why AT&T Wants To Keep the iPhone Away From Verizon 237

Posted by Soulskill on Saturday April 25, 2009 @12:20PM from the all-about-the-benjamins dept.

Hugh Pickens writes "Saul Hansell of the NY Times has an interesting post analyzing AT&T's earnings report and highlighting the enormous stakes involved in the renewal of its exclusive contract to distribute Apple's iPhone in the United States. Hansell does some rough calculations: 'If the average iPhone customer brings in $90 a month, or $1,080 a year in revenue, and the operating profit margin stays constant at 26 percent, that means an iPhone customer represents at least $561 in operating profit over a two-year contract,' says Hansell. 'Put another way, if the company gets 2.5 million new customers a year because of its iPhone exclusivity, the deal represents at least $700 million a year in operating profits — profits that it could lose if Verizon sold the iPhone, too.' With those sort of numbers, AT&T has every reason to make Apple an offer it can't refuse to keep its exclusive deal for another few years. Of course, the incentives for Verizon are presumably the mirror image, so expect Verizon to come to Cupertino, checkbook in hand, to see what sort of deal they can make. 'The benefit of somewhat more iPhone sales from wide distribution is likely to be swamped by a huge bid from AT&T to keep exclusivity, and an equally high bid from Verizon to win some (or maybe even all) of the business for itself.'"

Time Warner Shutting Off Austin Accounts For Heavy Usage 591

Posted by Soulskill on Saturday April 25, 2009 @10:21AM from the somebody-threw-them-a-shovel dept.

mariushm writes "After deciding to shelve metered broadband plans, it looks like Time Warner is cutting off, with no warning, the accounts of customers whom they deem to have used too much bandwidth. 'Austin Stop The Cap reader Ryan Howard reports that his Road Runner service was cut off yesterday without warning. According to Ryan, it took four calls to technical support, two visits to the cable store to try two new cable modems (all to no avail), before someone at Time Warner finally told him to call the company's "Security and Abuse" center. "I called the number and had to leave a voice mail, and about an hour later a Time Warner technician called me back and lectured me for using 44 gigabytes in one week," Howard wrote. Howard was then "educated" about his usage. "According to her, that is more than most people use in a year," Howard said.'"

Submission + - The Pirate Bay Aftermath Circus in Swedish Press

Submitted by MaulerOfEmotards on Friday April 24, 2009 @11:02PM

MaulerOfEmotards writes: Reading the Swedish news reports, the turmoil surrounding the aftermath of The Pirate Bay trial continues.

Part of the news are occupied with Tomas Norström, the presiding judge of The Pirate Bay trial. Mr. Nordström is suspected of bias after reports of affiliation with copyright protection organisations, for which he has been charged reported to the appeals court, is rapidly gaining a certain notoriety. The circus around him is currently focused on three points. First, his personal affiliation with at least four copyright protection organisations, a state the potential bias of which he himself fails to see and refuse to admit. Secondly, Swedish trials use a system of several lay assessors to supervise the presiding judge, one of which, a member of an artists' interest organisation, which is far fewer than Mr. Norström himself, was by Mr. Norström made to resign from the trial for potential bias, and his failing to see the obvious contradiction in this casts doubts on his suitability and competence. Thirdly, according to professor of judicial sociology Håkan Hydén the judge has inappropriately "duped and influenced the lay assessors" during the trial: "a judge that has decided that 'this is something we can't allow' has little problem finding legal arguments that are difficult for assisting lay assessors to counter".

The apparent grave legal problems if the trial itself is also of medial interest. Professor Hydén continues with enumerating "at least three strange things" with "a strange trial": Firstly that someone can be sentenced for being accessory to a crime for which there is no main culprit: "this assumes someone else having committed the crime, and no such individual exists here ... the system cannot charge the real culprits or it would collapse in its entirety". It is unprecedented in Swedish judicial history to sentence only an accessory. Secondly, that the accessories should pay the fine for a crime committed by the main culprits "which causes the law to contradict itself". And thirdly that accessories cannot be sentenced to harsher than the main culprit, which means that every downloader must be sentenced to a year's confinement. In closing Me. Hydén sums up by saying that to allow this kind of judgement the Swedish Parliament must first pass a bill making this kind of services illegal, which hasn't been done.

Submission + - Life at Microsoft is Literally No Picnic

Submitted by

theodp

on Friday April 24, 2009 @10:49PM

theodp writes: "Sorry kids, Uncle Steve says there'll be no pony rides or giant slides for you this summer. Microsoft notified employees Friday that the company's annual Family Picnic, usually held in a picturesque setting, has been canceled as part of the company's effort to reduce costs in the face of the difficult economy. 'The big reason is to pay attention to costs,' said Lou Gellos, a Microsoft spokesman. Gellos did not have an estimate on how much the event costs to produce, although it's hard to imagine that Microsoft couldn't find a kind soul with lots of money to sponsor it. Gellos did add that the company meeting at Safeco Field will continue to be held 'because it's very business-oriented.'"

Scientists Isolate and Treat Parasite Causing Decline in Honey Bee Population 182

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Friday April 24, 2009 @06:34PM from the buzzing-with-excitement dept.

In a recent report, a team of scientists from Spain claims to have isolated and treated the parasite causing honey bee depopulation syndrome. Their hope is to prevent the continued decline of honey bee populations in Europe and the US. "The loss of honey bees could have an enormous horticultural and economic impact worldwide. Honeybees are important pollinators of crops, fruit and wild flowers and are indispensable for a sustainable and profitable agriculture as well as for the maintenance of the non-agricultural ecosystem. Honeybees are attacked by numerous pathogens including viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites."

Oracle Top Execs Answer Sun Employee Questions 207

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Friday April 24, 2009 @05:07PM from the duck-and-cover dept.

The Register writes "Sun invited Oracle president Charles Phillips and chief corporate architect Edward Screven to an employee-only town hall this Wednesday, where they took questions on what's coming. They said they'd be 'crazy' to close Java, that Oracle 'needs' MySQL, and all Sun's processors look appealing. They hedged on OpenOffice — Phillips said he couldn't comment on any product line — and on Sun's work in high-performance computing. Screven made it pretty clear the Sun vision of cloud computing does not fit with Oracle's; Oracle sees itself as a provider of infrastructure like virtualization to make clouds, not a provider of hosted services. As for who's staying and who's getting cut at Sun: Phillips said Oracle needs Sun, but warned 'tough decisions' will be coming. Don't forget, this is the company that couriered pink slips to the PeopleSoft staff it cut following that acquisition."

Comment Re:How hard can it be to get this right? (Score 1) 114

by jaria on Sunday April 12, 2009 @01:59AM (#27546643) Attached to: Finnish Court Dismisses E-Voting Result

How does your system allow voting from multiple locations, prevent duplicate votes, prevent voters to be associated with their votes, etc?

It is funny, and perhaps lucky that they got the user interface work so badly botched. The user interface is the easy part. The hard part is getting the security right and the entire country-wide system reliable, and not allow any particular party (such as the vendor) steal the elections, or allow government to look at how you voted.

The system we used failed on all counts, but only the user interface problems were visible to the end-user. For instance, revealing votes: the government officials have keys to open the ballots and see who voted how. Luckily, they have promised not to look, so we can all sleep well now.

Comment Interesting facts about the case (Score 4, Interesting) 114

by jaria on Sunday April 12, 2009 @01:41AM (#27546593) Attached to: Finnish Court Dismisses E-Voting Result

It is of course a completely correct decision from the supreme court to re-run the elections, and we are very happy about it.

But it has been interesting to follow the developments and the various attempts to avoid this outcome.

Before the elections, the minister of justice, Tuija Brax claimed any possible problems were "science fiction". After the elections and when the problems were announced, she has not been a support of new elections, just stating that the courts need to decide. However, she was quick to launch an internal investigation and fire the Director of Elections. Not sure the director was really the true guilty person here, but at least a scapegoat had been found...

The city voting boards very resisting new elections for the last second. They came up with interesting claims to prevent this from happening. One claim that we've heard often -- even after the decision -- is that the new elections do not matter, because the party situations would not change. Well, they were missing the minor issue that in Finland the election system is based on voting on persons, not parties. Some of us do care about who we vote there. A more sinister claim was that the voters had conspired to misuse the voting system on purpose, to show that it was unreliable (!). Now, talk about science fiction, maybe these guys could be of some use in the JFK murder investigation? Not to mention the fact that a correctly implemented voting system should not be vulnerable to such misuse.

The three cities involved are now extremely unhappy with the ministry, as the law requires them to pay for the new elections. The ministry has promised an extra budget to help out... though in my mind, the architects and vendors of the system should get to pay.

Its also been extremely difficult to get any information from the government on the details of the system. The local EFF wanted to take a look before the elections, but was refused (or impossible NDAs were requested). I made an official request to get the cost information of the entire project, and the government claimed that they have no such information. One number that has been circulated in the press was 700 000 euros, but that seems low, given that a large number of design and specification work went in, even at the ministry level not to mention the vendors.

All in all, a happy outcome:

- director of elections fired
- minister is now pro-open source and paper trail
- general knowledge of possible problems in e-voting was increased in the country :-)
- elections are re-run

However, everyone is quite focused on the specific bugs we experienced, thinking that individual bugs can easily be fixed. I'm more worried about the process and the way that these things are done. I don't see a way to avoid bugs next time either, for instance. Lack of verifiability, openness, government not listening to citizens or outside experts, blind acceptance of vendor sales pitches, lack of sensible motivation for the entire effort are the worrisome aspects.

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